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Why I'm Running

Since my opponent, Paul Workman, has taken office in 2010, traffic congestion in Western Travis County has increased, property taxes have exploded, our public school finance system has become outdated and inefficient, our water issues remain uncertain, and our legislative process has become polarized and dysfunctional. Paul Workman has done little or nothing to improve these systems and, in some instances, has actually made them worse. I am running to fight for systemic changes that would solve the systemic problems that make it difficult to maximize the quality of service we get from our hard-earned taxpayer dollars.

While the centerpiece of my platform is reforming our partisan redistricting process, it is not the only piece. I chose to focus on it in my campaign because I believe it explains why the other very important issues that deserve our attention are getting ignored at the Texas Legislature. I believe voters are being denied the power to keep politicians in check because officeholders have successfully eliminated competition in general elections in a large number of districts throughout the state including, District 47. As a result, when voters show up at the polls, they have no choice but to vote for the incumbent. In addition, when there is no competition, voters have less information about the candidates, which in turn makes it more likely that they will base their vote solely on partisanship instead of issues. Local elections are supposed to be about local issues, but today, they are increasinly only about party affiliation.

Clearly, we need to take the map drawing out of the hands of incumbent politicians and put it in the hands of an independent redistricting commission. We need to do this before the next redistricting cycle, which is set to begin in 2020. Other states have already successfully reformed their own redistricting processes. Texas can do it too. With your help, I will fight to get done now.